Michael Sam: I have met a lot of gay players in the NFL
Out gay NFL hopeful Michael Sam has said he knows there are “a lot” of gay players in the NFL, and that a number of players have come out to him as gay, since he did publicly.
The 25-year-old who has had brief spells with the St Louis Rams and the Dallas Cowboys – made history as the first openly gay NFL player in May 2013, though he is yet to play an on-season game.
He got engaged to partner Vito Cammisano in January, during a trip to Italy.
Speaking to the Star Tribune, Sam said: “I am not the only gay person in the NFL,” Sam said Thursday. “I’m just saying there is a lot of us. I respect the players that did reach out to me and had the courage to tell me that they were also gay, but they do not have the same courage as I do to come out before I even played a down in the NFL.
He continued: “Was it a risky move? Yes. But at that moment, the reason why I came out is I thought it wasn’t going to be a big deal. Maybe I was naive. Maybe I thought it was 2014, and people will understand that there’s gay NFL players. There’s gay athletes everywhere. But I was clearly wrong. It was a huge deal.
“The players who have reached out to me and told me about their sexual orientation, it just means a lot. But I will never say anything about who they are, what teams they are [on]. I’m just saying there’s some famous people, and I’m not the only one.”
He last week said he is “very confident” that he will be drafted to a professional team.
Sam said in a recent interview that he has received criticism – because his fiancé is white.
